Ukraine's patrol police chief Yevhen Zhukov has resigned following public outrage over two officers who reportedly abandoned civilians during a deadly mass shooting in Kyiv.
Six people were killed and 14 injured on Saturday when a gunman opened fire on a street in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district before taking hostages in a nearby supermarket. The attacker was later killed in an exchange with police.
Viral video footage appears to show officers fleeing the scene while civilians remained in danger. Interior Minister Igor Klymenko announced the officers have been suspended pending investigation.
"'Serve and protect' is not just a slogan. It must be supported by appropriate professional actions, especially at critical moments when people's lives depend on it," Klymenko stated on Telegram.
Zhukov told reporters the officers "failed to assess the situation properly and left civilians in danger," calling their actions "unprofessional and unworthy."
"As a combat officer, I have decided to submit my resignation from the position I currently hold," Zhukov declared.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the officers were present but "did not stop the murderer, and fled on their own." He has ordered a criminal investigation into their conduct.
"We are going through a war and every day, unfortunately, there are human losses from Russian strikes," Zelensky said. "It is especially painful to lose people like this, in an ordinary city, just on the street."
Authorities are treating the incident as a terrorist act, though no motive has been established. The shooter has been identified as a 58-year-old originally from Moscow who had been living in the Holosiivskyi district. Officials confirmed he used a legally registered firearm and are investigating how he obtained his license renewal.
While Kyiv faces regular attacks from Russian forces, such civilian shootings remain rare. Klymenko emphasized there would be no mass review of gun owners, stating, "I believe that people should have the right to armed self-defence, especially after the experience when, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, civilians received weapons for national resistance."
Eight victims remain hospitalized, with one adult in critical condition and three others seriously injured. The attack has raised questions about police protocols and civilian firearm regulations in a nation at war.